Bounce House Automatic deflation system for large inflatable structures

he number of injuries from inflatable bounce houses has skyrocketed over the last 20 years to more than 30 children injured each day, about one every 45 minutes, and some of the injuries were severe or even fatal, according to the Child Injury Prevention Alliance.

More than 113,000 people were injured in inflatables from 2003 to 2013, most of them children.

• December 2007, Castle Rock, Washington: A 3-year-old boy was killed in an indoor bounce house when two adults fell on him and fractured his skull.
• June 2011, Nassau County, New York: Three bounce houses were lifted and rolled by a gust of wind, injuring 13 people.
• May 2014, South Glens Fall, New York: Two kindergartners were seriously injured when they fell from a bounce house after it was picked up by a wind gust that blew them as far as 50 feet into the air. One child landed on a parked car, and another on asphalt.
• May 2014, Jefferson County, Colorado: A bounce house was blown 300 feet, throwing out a 10-year-old girl immediately. An 11-year-old boy was injured as the bounce house continued to be blown and flipped more than 300 feet.
• July 2014, Sparks, Nevada: An inflated slide at a Fourth of July celebration was blown three stories into the air, injuring two bystanders.
• October 2014, Nashua, New Hampshire: Two brothers, 2 and 3 years old, were hospitalized, the younger in critical condition, after the bounce house they were in at a Halloween festival was swept 30 feet into the air before crashing into an orchard. The bounce house owner was charged with several misdemeanors for operating improperly.
• June 2015, Guangxi, China: A 3-year-old girl was killed at a birthday party when she fell from a bounce castle that was lifted by a gust of wind.
• March 2016, Essex, England: A 7-year-old girl died after a bounce castle blew away with her inside. A man and woman were charged with suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence in the case.
• May 2016, Houston, Texas: Ten people were injured when strong winds blew a bounce house more than 30 yards across a football field and into a fence during a school carnival.
• May 2016, Fort Lauderdale, Florida: A water spout moved on shore and lifted a bounce house, throwing three young children 20 feet onto the sand below.

There is no agency that oversees the use of bounce houses and other inflatables in South Carolina. The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation does not inspect or regulate bounce houses.

HealthyChildren.org recommends that those who buy from or higher a bounce house supplier:

• Check the advice given by the supplier on how to operate the equipment. It should contain detailed instructions, weight and operating guidelines. If such advice is not provided, be wary.
• Ask the supplier if it has records of accidents/incidents in the past and what measures were taken to prevent them. If you hire a bounce house supplier, you should be asked to report any accidents, even “silly” ones, so that it can improve its advice to others. If suppliers say they have never had accidents, be suspicious. Accidents like bumps, bruises, sprains and even broken bones can be expected in any boisterous activities involving children.
• Check whether the supplier has their inflatable sets checked annually by a competent person. They should be able to show evidence of any reports.

HealthyChildren.org recommends that parents:

• Follow all the recommended guidelines for safe installation including anchoring. The bounce house should be situated away from any fences, greenhouses, branches, etc., which would be dangerous should a child fall onto them.
• Consider limiting use to children 6 and older.
• Children should take off footwear, eyeglasses, and jewelry before getting on the set.
• Take any sharp objects (pens, keys) out of their pockets/hands before playing (Such items could easily cause puncture injuries).
• Do not let children of significantly different sizes onto the bounce house at the same time. Smaller children are at risk of injury from colliding with or falling under an older child.
• Do not allow adults and/or children who are larger than the height/weight for which the bounce house is designed for.
• Food, drink, bottles, glasses etc. should not be taken onto the bounce house.
• Supervision should be maintained at all times. If supervision cannot be maintained, the bounce house should be deflated and moved away. Supervision means watching constantly and not just being in the area.
• Children should be informed that they must not push other children off the inflatable. If it is a flatbed, this is especially important to avoid broken arms and legs. If the bounce house is of the walled type, children should not be allowed to bounce against the walls and crash into one another, which can result in collision injuries.
• Follow the advice given on the maximum number of children permitted at any one time and let them on and off in a controlled manner.
• Children should not be allowed to climb onto the outside walls. Flips and rough play should also not be allowed.